ROANOKE, Va. – At the home of the Celtics, the Roanoke Catholic girl’s basketball team is proving it’s now how you start but rather, how you finish.
“The young team—they finally have come together,” said Head Coach Ryann Hubbard.
Roanoke Catholic has just one senior and one junior on a team that is young and also sports three eighth graders. The Celtics lost their first two games of the season and four straight before the VISAA DIII State Tournament. But, the team’s approach has fortified a better effort on the court.
“They continue to believe in what we’ve been coaching them up on and they continue to believe in each other, lift each other and they have finally started to click here at the end,” said Hubbard.
The Roanoke Catholic girls program has never won a state championship but for the second consecutive season—it’s within reach.
In 2023, the Celtics reached the VISAA DIII State Championship before narrowly falling to Walsingham Academy, 45-41. It was the program’s first year with Ryann Hubbard as head coach and older brother Champ as his assistant.
The duo’s track record of success is nothing short of stellar after having led the William Fleming girls program to similar heights during their tenure at their Alma mater.
Having already defeated Walsingham Academy in the quarterfinals of this year’s state tournament, Roanoke Catholic is confident in what lies ahead. First, a matchup with St. Margaret’s in Friday’s semifinals.
“We have to execute the plays because the offense is I think where we struggle more,” said Celtics guard/forward Mickey O’Herron. “So, if we can keep our defense strong and execute plays coach is giving us I think we can be able to do it.”